Anyone who’s really eager to see the Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer‘s Cloud Atlas has likely already pored over that six-minute trailer released over the summer, but for the rest of the moviegoing public there’s now a more traditional two-minute theatrical version. Whichever camp you fall into, the new cut is worth checking out, as there’s a bit of fresh footage to be found here.

Based on David Mitchell‘s acclaimed novel, Cloud Atlas weaves together six tangentially related stories that traverse time and space. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, and Bae Doona star, each playing a number of different characters across the different plotlines. Watch the trailer after the jump.

One of my all-time favorite Comic-Con memories was walking the floor, glimpsing over to a small booth in the 4000s and seeing Larry and Andy Wachowski. The writers and directors of Bound and The Matrix were just sitting there. No line, no nothing. That’s what happens when you make one of the most influential and revered films of a generation but refuse to do interviews about it. You gain a certainly level of anonymity and mystique. The kind that allows you walk around unnoticed Comic-Con, which is exactly how the Wachowskis wanted it.

Since my Comic-Con encounter, where the brothers couldn’t have been nicer, Larry has become Lana and the pair have teamed up with Tom Tykwer to make Cloud Atlas, Warner Bros.’ 2012 Oscar hopeful starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and others, scheduled for release October 26. The film had a long, difficult road to the big screen and is a huge risk, both personally and professionally, for the siblings. To combat that, they’ve finally begun to shed some of their press armor and open up about not only this film, but everything else as well.

We saw a brief video introduction to the film, another clip discussing technique and now The New Yorker has published a stunning profile on Andy and Lana. In it, we learn all about how they became filmmakers, their influences, background, Lana’s gender transformation, the difficulties of financing and adapting Cloud Atlas, the success of The Matrix and even some revealing details on film they partially shot called Cobalt Neural 9. It’s a must read for all film fans. Get the link after the jump. Read More »

The same breathtaking ambition that makes Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer‘s David Mitchell adaptation Cloud Atlas so intriguing also gives it the potential to flop, hard. Weaving together six interlocking stories that cut across time, space, and genre is difficult enough to do within the confines of a novel, to say nothing of a three-hour film. Then there’s that insane casting: stars like Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, and Jim Sturgess are each playing multiple characters, in some cases switching genders or races to do so.

Thankfully, buzz from test screenings suggests that much more of it works than not. Keep in mind that quite a few things may have changed in the few months since testing began (for one thing, some of these folks saw a cut that was four hours long), and that these reactions are coming from people whose tastes we don’t know. Even so, a flood of positive reactions seems like a very promising sign. Hit the jump to read the comments.

Black Swan star Natalie Portman was hotter than hot coming out of last year’s Oscar season, a freshly minted Best Actress winner with one just-released film (No Strings Attached) and two more (Your Highness and Thor) lined up for the next few months. Since then, however, she’s been laying low, with no new projects on her upcoming slate. No, it wasn’t the supposed Oscar curse at work — Portman’s hiatus came courtesy of her son Aleph, who was born in June. (Damn kids.) Portman shot her last three films before her pregnancy, and has taken on no new roles since.

But now it appears Portman’s finally getting ready to head back to work, potentially with a movie every bit as gloriously bizarre as the one that won her the Oscar. Andy and Lana Wachowski reportedly want the actress for their upcoming Jupiter Ascending, and there’s a real possibility that Portman will accept.

Matrix directors Andy and Lana Wachowski are currently busy shooting the David Mitchell adaptation Cloud Atlas (with co-director and co-writer Tom Twyker), but for their next project they’ll be returning to the kind of tentpole sci-fi that brought them so much success a few years ago. The siblings are set up to direct a mysterious film titled Jupiter Ascending for Warner Bros., and are currently looking to cast a big-name star for a spring start date. More details after the jump.

Are the Wachowski Brothers shooting a top secret movie right now? This is the question I received in my email from /Film reader Seann A, who included a link to Arianna Huffington‘s twitter account. Many of you will recognize Huffington as a syndicated columnist and co-founder of the liberal news website The Huffington Post.

Arianna sent out a bunch of interesting tweets today claiming to be shooting a part in a Wachowskis Brothers film, a movie about the Iraq War, from the perspective of the future. I would normally just write this off as not legit, but Huffington has posted photos from the set, one of which features Wachowski brother turned sister Lana Wachowski. Is it possible that the Wachowski Brothers have actually sneaked their next film into production without anyone noticing? Or is this just part of a short film, commercial, or test footage for a potential future project?

Anyone have any ideas or know anything more solid? We’ll keep you updated.

Updates:

Erik Davis (of cinematical fame) e-mailed me in response asking if it could be Cloud Atlas, the Wachowski Brothers-produced Tom Tykwer-directed adaptation of the postmodern novel by David Mitchell . But as far as I’ve heard, that film is still in the development stages and Tykwer just wrapped last week on a new feature called Drei (Three), so it is unlikely that he is back behind the camera so soon. Or maybe Tykwer is no longer involved?

Devin from Chud claims the Wachowskis are not yet in production, but are spending a couple says shooting “test footage” for their next project.

Later this week we’ll be publishing our full interview with director James McTeigue (V For Vendetta, Ninja Assassin), but until then I’ve been posting some of the more newsworthy bits to come out of our discussion. Yesterday, McTeigue revealed his next project, a Se7en–stlye thriller titled The Raven, and he gave us an update on the development of the sci-fi adaptation Altered Carbon. You can read about both projects in our previous post.

James also took the time to address three comic book movie related rumors that have been circulating the interwebs recently, including Plastic Man, X-Men Origins: Magneto and a Superman reboot. Rumors debunked and quotes after the jump.

Walt Disney Pictures has announced a July 16th 2010 release for the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Jon Turteltaub-directed family adventure film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Marvel recently moved Thor out of the weekend, but now the Mouse House production will go head to head with Christopher Nolan‘s sci-fi action film Inception. Disney has two other event films scheduled for Summer 2010: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters on May 28th and Toy Story 3 will be released on July 18th.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros has set The Wachowski Brothers-produced James McTeigue-directed Ninja Assassin on November 25th 2009, up from a TBA 2010. Richard Kelly‘s sci-fi thriller The Box has been moved from November to Halloween weekend, up against Youth in Revolt, and a week after Saw VI.

Remember that report that showed up on AICN last week claiming that The Wachowski Brothers had been offered a reboot of Superman? Sorry to get you guys all excited but I have just gotten confirmation from two independent sources that the report was completely false. I don’t know if an interview with James McTeigue actually aired on RTL1 or not (I’m guessing not) but The Wachowski Brothers have definitely never had any talks with DC or Warner Bros to helm a Superman film. This is confirmed.

Could The Wachowski Brothers be in line to direct a reboot of Superman for Warner Bros? A scooper over at AICN caught an interview with V For Vendetta director James McTeigue on Berlin television where the filmmaker admitted that Plastic Man was originally scheduled to be the brothers’ next project, but the film has been delayed indefinitely due to a major shake-up of projects at Warner Bros. McTeigue was even signed on to direct second unit, as he has done on past Wachowski Brothers productions.